Kohli joins Smith in elite World Cup list

Birmingham: Indian skipper Virat Kohli celebrates his half century during the 38th match of World Cup 2019 between India and England at Edgbaston stadium in Birmingham, England, on June 30, 2019. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS). Image Source: IANS News

Birmingham, July 1 : Indian skipper Virat Kohli scored yet another half-century in the ongoing World Cup during his side's 31-run loss to England at Edgbaston.

On Sunday, Kohli scored his fifth fifty on the trot in the ongoing tournament and became the second batsman after Australia's Steve Smith to score five consecutive half centuries in a World Cup. Smith had scored five fifties on the trot in the 2015 edition of the prestigious quadrennial event which Australia won by defeating New Zealand in the finals.

Before scoring 66 against England, Kohli had scored 72 against West Indies, 67 against Afghanistan, 77 against Pakistan and 82 against Australia. With the feat, Kohli also became the first captain to score five consecutive fifties in a World Cup.

During the course of his inning on Sunday, the 30-year-old also went past Rahul Dravid to become the highest Indian run-getter in England in ODIs. Dravid had scored 1238 runs in England.

Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan and Australia captain Aaron Finch are the two other players to pull off four straight 50+ scores in this edition of the World Cup.

Kohli has so far scored 382 runs in the six innings he has played in the ongoing tournament. He is behind Rohit Sharma (440) who is currently at the sixth spot in the list of highest run-getters in this World Cup.